Bullfrogs actually sound better, much louder and much deeper (and for me, much funnier) in real life, but this guy that I just found at youtube was so cute, I decided I'd go ahead and post him, anyway.

It was one of those mornings where you couldn't go even five steps without stopping to take another picture, just wanting to, (you knew, futilely) trying to capture all that beauty that was so filling you up inside. Where all you felt was thanks and wonder.

The Lusty Month of Mayor….. Me and Some of My Friends Just Hanging Out

"… I rejoice in the spring, as though no spring ever had been."Theodore Roethke or

Pippa's SongThe year 's at the spring,And day 's at the morn;Morning 's at seven;The hill-side 's dew-pearl'd;The lark 's on the wing;The snail 's on the thorn;God 's in His heaven—All 's right with the world!Robert Browningor

Behold (E Ike Mai)

Above, aboveAll birds in air

Below, belowAll earth's flowers

Inland, inlandAll forest trees

Seaward, seawardAll ocean fish

Sing out and sayAgain the refrain

Behold this lovely world

Traditional Hawaiian ChantTranslanted by Mary Kawena Pukuix

or

EDIT: My dog just took me on a walk. That gave me a few minutes to think of Some of the Sense Pleasures That for me Evoke the Springness of Spring.

-Frogsong-- starting off as a solitary call and response then building to a crescendo of lovesick ardent amphibians

-The fragrance of the "Korean Spice" viburnum, Viburnum Carlesii, scenting spring as I can't imagine any other fragrance could so evoke that exquisite loveliness of season

-Baby ducks in a perpetual leaphopdash in the pond, forever in pursuit of an elusive but so very tantalizing and would-be so yummy delicacy of bug

-That something in the air, in the light, in the freshness, particularly in the early mornings where you understand that Spring really does feel like renewal and it very definitely feels like joy so very long gone but now (a little miraculously) returned.

Some time ago here at KF, this was a place where a fair number of people used to take great joy in posting different pictures, experiences, websites, programs, stories, and parts of themselves and their lives merely for the pleasure of sharing and trying to build and strengthen this dream of a fledgling world community. They/we posted and contributed, happily, in proffered and often accepted (Internet) friendship, getting to know one another and trying to exploit and build upon the potential that this forum of caring people from all over the world clearly offered.

It was sweet. It was really really sweet. As I’m sure has become more than obvious to some of you, there are some of us, one of us, anyway, who have a tough time accepting that all that, at least, that most of that, had to, that it was destined to end.

I, personally, believe that the promise, the hope and joy of things often end only when each of us, as individuals, essentially “let” them end, when we stop doing our own individual parts in nourishing and sustaining them. “Oh well,” said the frog. I guess that's life.

Anyway, all that was to explain how I, once again, ended up back here, this morning, having been up since before 4 a.m., fooling around for a lot of that time, seeing what I could see, learning what I could learn, and regaling in what I could regale in, on the Internet. What happened was that having stopped off at takepart.com as I often do, it springboarded me to a few other websites, one of which generated the picture I’m posting here that I wanted to share simply because it gave me pleasure. If you click on the picture I'm posting, her great smile will fill your screen.

It made me happy. I thought it was a fantastic picture. But-- because I’ve learned that stuff like that is often only in the eye of the beholder, or the feelings of the feeler, the perceptions of the perceiver, I understand that only some here are going to respond to that picture in a similar way. Others, possibly the majority who even take the time to look at it, will just as likely shake their heads and think, “Whaaat?!?” And, of course, that's ok. We each have our own tastes, which is as it should be. Anyway, check it out (and the other links, below) if you feel like it.http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/tag/activism/

http://www.good.is/post/rhode-island-nonprofit-headsup-helps-the-most-vulnerable/“Founded in 2000, HeadsUp (an acronym for "Health, Education, Arts Developing Strength, Unity and Peace") was a grassroots effort focused on reaching downtown Providence, Rhode Island’s vulnerable populations, including those diagnosed as HIV-positive, at-risk children and families, and residents emerging from a low-income or homeless background….

….In addition to the cold weather shelter and hot meals, HeadsUp also hosts the Tenderloin Opera Company, a theater training program bringing together homeless, homeless advocates and members of the Brown University community; ArtsReach, arts and music classes for HIV-positive and others; and Harvest Kitchen, a 15-week culinary training program for at-risk youth that sources its produce from local growers.”

I’ve mentioned it here, before, but I love looking at this guy’s, Steve McCurry’s work. His most current posting of a photo collection entitled, “Everyone’s Got A Story,”* I think is especially great.

*The last picture in the series, from Vrindavan, India, is accompanied by a short description that I think would be worth people’s time reading. It very much brought to mind a movie I once saw, Water, that starred what turned out to be this spectacular little girl actress, Sarla, apparently from Sri Lanka, who played the ever-engaging 8 year old, Chuyia, in the film.

I keep thinking and kind of hoping that I’m going to bring the KF era of my life to a close (and how long has she been promising that, folks?!!?). We’ll all be surprised if this is (finally) it, but maybe of interest, maybe not, I often think something like, “Well, if this were going to be my very last post at KF, how would I feel about this being the one?” As many here too well know, it probably isn’t very likely. It does occur to me, though, that if it were, particularly given this collection’s depiction of the universality (and often the dearness) of human experience and connection, I wouldn’t mind this being the one not one little bit.

Anyway, until the next one, right…….?

EDIT: Because one of my posts probably wouldn’t really be one of my posts without an “Edit” that would make the post twenty billion words long and because, who knows, this really may end up being the one, I thought I’d add a few pics that “spoke to me” that I just found when looking at the website for an art gallery I may be able to stop by when I’m traveling next month. I wanted to see if it was going to be open when my friend and I might be able to have a look at some of McCurry’s photos up close that are going to be on display there. Since I was at the website, anyway, I became curious about another photographer, Elliott Erwitt, they featured (whom I’d thought I’d never heard of) whose show, apparently, has already come and gone.

I’ll sign off, at least for right this minute, with three of Erwitt’s pics, the first, from North Carolina in 1950, which, upon seeing it I realized, was all too familiar and which actually is pretty famous. The second, of the “Malibu Kiss,” I just liked. But it was almost for sure the third one, below, that cinched that I was going to have to come back and do this edit. So, blame it on the lovely ladies!

Just had the news on while I was goofing off on the Internet, not for a change. Being the multi-tasker I’m really not, my ears still managed to prick up and catch a bit of a feature story that couldn’t help but snag my interest.

It was about some woman in Vermont who’d found a way to overcome the depredations of a challenging economy by tapping into (the by me, heretothen unknown, but apparently booming) UglyChristmasSweater market. Just because it’s what I do, intrigued, I then went a-googling and came across the following:

If inclined, you can check out the 3 minute-long video near the bottom of the page at the link that follows. It’s pretty funny and the fruit of this entrepreneur’s labor, just wonderfully, exquisitely hideous:http://www.myuglychristmassweater.com/pages/about-my-ugly-christmas-sweater-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT: Unrelated, for sure, except that these do represent “other pleasures.” And I guess that sharing, or turning other people onto neat things that matter to me, must, too.

And this, “Have You Heard From Johannesburg”, a five part series that’s due to air on PBS/TV, next month, I think. I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I first heard that it was going to be on. And now that my friend and I have decided, for sure, to include South Africa on our trip next Spring (and actually, we decided today that we’re going to be spending even longer there than we’ll be spending either in Uganda or in Kenya), it’s going to be even that much more meaningful, at least, to me, than it was going to be already. And it already was going to be pretty meaningful.

I, so far, have only been able to view the trailer which you can see at this link. Even just that was enough to make me determined to track down the film, itself, and, if it’s half as good as the trailer, to then try to spread the learning and the sad joyful pleasure of it.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------EDIT #3, and then that’s it.

Couldn’t sleep. A lot going on. So, I decided to watch a film I’d taken a chance on and had ordered, recently. Ordered it partly for the story, but mostly because the same woman, Lalita Krishna, who put together my all-time favorite, Ryan’s Well, did this one, too.

I am so very aware that maybe only one or two of you, if even that many, are likely to act on my recommendation and will make the effort to track this down and watch it. All I will say is that you will be the lucky ones. This was absolutelytremendous.Chaos, Chords and Karmahttp://www.insyncvideo.ca/project-chaos.html

“Eight kids with eclectic tastes, one musical director with traditional visions, one holy dude, two countries and a trip that will take you far beyond India.

Chaos, Chords & Karma is the story of a group of teenagers who banded together to change their worlds.

The kids wrote their own music, raised funds and traveled to India to perform a concert to benefit a shelter for Indian street kids.

There were a few obstacles along the road . . . artistic differences, personal challenges and a landslide, but they did it their way and ended up with rewards they never could have imagined.”

My friend just turned me onto a song to maybe take with us** to Africa that I’d never heard of and don’t know how I missed, “Children, Go Where I Send You,” by Nina Simone. Went to I-Tunes to check it out and immediately knew I’d love it.

Tried to find her version on youtube to round out my post as it seemed just perfect for that purpose, especially given this last edit. But I couldn’t find it quickly, so I gave up. Instead, for a 30 second sampling of it, I can send you here. (Or, you can go to I-Tunes like I originally did).

Just had the news on while I was goofing off on the Internet, not for a change. Being the multi-tasker I’m really not, my ears still managed to prick up and catch a bit of a feature story that couldn’t help but snag my interest.

It was about some woman in Vermont who’d found a way to overcome the depredations of a challenging economy by tapping into (the by me, heretothen unknown, but apparently booming) UglyChristmasSweater market. Just because it’s what I do, intrigued, I then went a-googling and came across the following: